Evolution of Sharpie

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Launched in 1967 “Sharpie” was the original name designating the permanent marker and became the first pen style permanent marker. Despite its history, branding and marketing for Sharpie had been fairly quiet until the year of 2000 when aggressive marketing and events ignited the brand and category sales. In 2000, Sharpie became the title sponsor of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and sponsor for Sprint Cup Champions such as Kurt Busch and Jaime McMurray. Following the sponsorship, Sharpie launched its first national Ad campaign that asked “How do you use your Sharpie?” The campaign featured former NFL wide receiver Terrell Owens answering that question when he pulled out a Sharpie from his sock to sign a football scoring a touchdown. The influence of the campaign sparked controversy over outlandish End- zone celebrations, creating major buzz around the Sharpie brand. The overwhelming exposure allowed for subsequent advertising and innovative creative promotions to help drive product sales and expansion of the brand. By 2002, 200 million Sharpies had been sold worldwide and Sharpie became the leading permanent marker and highlighter brand in the United States. Although Sharpie had become the #1 permanent marker worldwide, they had become relatively flat in category sales for the past several years. In efforts to compete with its competitors, Sharpie sought out to expand its brand with new products. In 2004, Sharpie launched a new a line of markers with retractable tips and introduced paint markers. Shortly after new versions of Sharpies emerged such as the Sharpie Mini that was half the size and featured clips to attach to a keychain or lanyard. The only problem was that the public perception of Sharpie was based on one singular product, the black Sharpie fine point marker. The company had a positive perception from its consumers, but was perceived as

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